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The eviction order from Arewa land given to Ndigbo by the foot soldiers of Hausa/Fulani political machine has become a subject of controversies immersed in deceit, duplicity, hypocrisy and sophistry. I was particularly prompted to write this piece because of the cacophony of responses from the quarters of Ndigbo the principal actors in this drama and it leaves one wondering what Ndigbo actually wanted.
By way of preamble, I was born a Nigerian, I was barely three years old in 1967 when Nigerians created Biafra and I was forced not by choice to become a Biafran because I was born to Igbo parents. Three years later, I was forced by another circumstance, the defeat of Biafra to become a Nigerian once again. Fifty years after, Nigerians have refused to let the Ghost of Biafra to rest permanently. Gradually and insidiously, it is resurrecting from its ashes and as in the case of the monster of Frankinstein, a subtle battle has just begun between the creator and the creature and one must give way to the other because they cannot co-habit. If Nigerians that created Biafra did not kill Biafra, Biafra will kill Nigeria.
For the avoidance of doubt, and purpose of clarity, Biafra was created by Nigerians in response to wanton ethnic violence pogrom and genocide. Biafra was not a call to hate nor to resent other Nigerians and it will never be, but it was a call to be free from hate and resentment. It was a call to heal Nigeria from the past and present history of ethnic violence and hatred. It was a challenge for every Nigerian to move beyond ethnic and religious bigotry, a delusive mentality of victor and conquered people and master- slave relationship and build a nation of diverse ethnic nationalities, free from the toxins of bigotry, injustice, inequity and ethnicity. Therefore any Nigerian, Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba etc could be a Biafran once he believes it is the way forward for Nigeria.
But however, there are those who after fifty years of the end of the civil war, are still basking in the euphoria of victory and insisting on perpetual subjugation of a people. For them, the status quo must be maintained however warped and retrogressive it is. They feel invincible because they control the whole security apparatus in Nigeria. Nobody can dare them, they have the power of life and death over the rest of us. Little wonder their foot soldiers inside the Arewa House the symbol of Hausa/Fulani political hegemony have the audacity and impudence to give eviction order to Ndigbo without giving a hoot about the consequences. This is because of their fixation on the belief that Ndigbo were conquered people whose actions and voices must be confined within the limits defined for them by their conquerors.
But ironically, my grouse was not about the quit notice which to me was a blessing in disguise, my grouse is about the ambivalence of the Igbo people living in Arewa land, the naivety and hypocrisy of the southeast governors, the silence of the authentic Igbo leaders (with the exception Nnia Nwodo the Ohaneze President General)( I do not mean rabble rousers) and finally the sophistry of northern political leadership including their governors. If anybody told me that Nasir El Rufai the Governor and Chief Security Officer of Kaduna state did not know about the press conference inside Arewa House and the purpose, considering the recent security upheavals in the state, I will tell the person to go tell it to the zombies and yet he was the first to issue condemnation and arrest order for the youths. What an irony. What a country.
Ndigbo living in Arewa land found themselves in a state of ambivalence like the Jews in the wilderness after they left Egypt. The Jews complained and grumbled to Moses that they wanted to go back to Egypt into slavery and servitude instead of enduring little pains and making little sacrifices for their greater tomorrow and that of their unborn generations in the promised land. The same goes with Igbo people in Arewa land. Their love for money and properties more than their lives, liberty, respect and dignity of the human person has beclouded their sense of history. They must not allow history to repeat itself again in the north. It is time for them to call the bluff of Arewa North and come back home and develop their fatherland, Biafra or no Biafra is absolutely inconsequential. Ndigbo can survive anywhere; even in hell, they will build edifices to the chagrin of Satan.
The worst mistake Ndigbo in Arewa North can make is to play the Ostrich in the present circumstance. The assurances of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Elders, Governors, Emirs etc, were mere sophistry. They will all be in their air condition mansions when the mayhem will start; all the security agencies under the control of Arewa people will hear no evil see no evil until after the carnage when thousands of lives had been wasted then they will come out and be on top of the situation and the real charade will start.
To before warned, is to before harm. Our fathers were never given this golden opportunity to leave before they strike. You have been given Expo, and it is probable that the eviction order was never intended to be made public by their masterminds. What are properties and businesses compare to life and human dignity? Let them take inventory of your properties and businesses and share the booties among themselves, after all, you were the conquered and ungrateful people who have not paid tribute to your conquerors since they spared your lives after the war when they had the opportunity to annihilate the whole Igbo race.
The most painful, naïve and hypocritical reaction to the eviction order came from the south-east governors. They did not get it. They could be described in the words Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) as “one who in a perilous emergency thinks with his legs” instead of his head (emphasis mine). They think they can play politics with human lives. Instead of being pragmatic about the quit notice, they panicked, rushed into consultations or placating the northern political and religious establishment to explore for peace. Peace of the graveyard. When they have finished deluding themselves they issue a press statement calling on the Igbo in the Arewa North to go about their normal business that their “security” is guaranteed by who? The very people that issued the threat? Well, Publilius Syrus 1st century thinker said that coward calls himself cautious.
It is most unfortunate that the south-east governors displayed crass naivety and hypocrisy in a serious matter that has to do with the lives of their people. “Nkwucha abro ujo” he who fights and run away will live to fight another day. The governors should have first of all activate every machinery in motion in all the south-east states to create a conducive and enabling environment that will be attractive to our brothers in Arewa north to relocate their families and businesses back home. Secondly, they must be assured that they are welcome back home any day any time, but on the contrary, the implications of the governors’ position was that they have become outcasts and must remain in “ Egypt” against all odds. The Igbo elites including the governors seem to be in a big shock following the quit notice by the Arewa foot soldiers, their massive investment in Abuja and other northern states is becoming a serious threat to the existence and survival of Igbo race. These investments have become their albatross, an already made ransom for the blackmail of the Igbo elites to betray the cause of their people always. They will not mind the loss of few lives as long as their investments are not jeopardised.
Finally, for the authentic Igbo leaders who choose to remain silent, I give you the words of Arch. Bishop John Fulton Shean. “The refusal to take side on great moral issues is itself a decision. It is silent acquiescence to evil. The tragedy of our time is that those who still believe in honesty lack fire and conviction, while those who believe in dishonesty are full of passion and conviction” Again, Albert Speer Hitler’s Armament Minister during his trial at Nuremberg stated that “Being in a position to know and shunning knowledge nevertheless created a responsibility for the consequences”.
Final words, a marriage of 100 years that are characterised by bloodshed ethnic and religious violence that have refuse to abate need a break, if not outright divorce, it should explore ways for peaceful separation, or go back to the drawing and change the whole configuration. As long as equity is no longer in the vocabulary of this marriage, then the marriage is meaningless.
Ebue Callistus
(Former Secretary NUJ)
Enugu State.
